By Scott Cacciola and Victor Mather, Front Page Lead, January 25, 2018<\/p>\n
LANSING, Mich. \u2014 The former doctor for the American gymnastics team, Dr. Lawrence G. Nassar, was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison on Wednesday for multiple sex crimes, capping an extraordinary seven-day hearing that drew more than 150 young women to publicly confront him and speak of their abuse.<\/p>\n
Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, who had opened her courtroom to the young women, including several prominent Olympic athletes, bluntly made clear that Dr. Nassar, 54, was likely to die in prison.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just signed your death warrant,\u201d she said as she imposed the sentence.<\/p>\n
Given an opportunity to address the court before sentencing, Dr. Nassar apologized to the young women and, occasionally turning to them in the courtroom, said: \u201cYour words these past several days have had a significant effect on myself and have shaken me to my core. I will carry your words with me for the rest of my days.\u201d Several women groaned when he faced them and sobbed as he spoke.<\/p>\n
Just before sentencing Dr. Nassar, the judge read parts of a letter he submitted to the court last week that contrasted with his stated contrition. In the letter, he complained about his treatment in a separate federal child pornography case and wrote that his accusers in this case were seeking news media attention and money. \u201cHell hath no fury like a woman scorned,\u201d he wrote in the letter, eliciting audible gasps from the spectators when the judge read the line.<\/p>\n
Judge Aquilina, who had emerged as a fierce advocate for the women, finished reading the excerpts and directed her ire at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis letter tells me you have not yet owned what you did,\u201d she said. \u201cYou still think somehow you are right, you\u2019re a doctor, that you\u2019re entitled, so you don\u2019t have to listen. That you did \u2018treatment.\u2019 I wouldn\u2019t send my dogs to you, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Nassar, 54, was accused of molesting girls for years under the guise of giving them examinations or medical treatment. Some were as young as 6. Many of them were Olympic gymnasts. In November, he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing seven girls. He had already been sentenced to 60 years in federal prison for child pornography convictions.<\/p>\n
The case and its ramifications are far from over. It has ignited outrage in the sports world and beyond, leading to the resignation this week of the chairman and several board members of the governing body for gymnastics in the United States, U.S.A. Gymnastics. Last week, the organization cut ties with the private training center at a remote Texas ranch where some of the abuse occurred.<\/p>\n
And at Michigan State, where Dr. Nassar spent years on the faculty and treated many of its athletes, an outpouring of political pressure led to the resignation of the university\u2019s president, Lou Anna K. Simon<\/a>, late Wednesday.<\/p>\n